Mitskavich named 2024 Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow
April 09, 2024
ARLINGTON, Texas – Melia Mitskavich of DuBois, Pennsylvania, has been chosen by the International Bowling Campus Youth Committee as the 2024 Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow.
The award recognizes the star qualities of a female high school senior or college student, including accomplishments on the lanes, academic achievement and community service. Along with the prestigious honor, Mitskavich will receive a $6,000 scholarship as the 2024 recipient.
Mitskavich, 18, the daughter of three-time Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour titlist Jackie (Sellers) Mitskavich, is a senior carrying a 4.0 GPA at DuBois Central Catholic High School in DuBois, Pennsylvania, while also taking courses for college credit. Mitskavich is an accomplished bowler and that, combined with her excellence in the classroom and her outstanding record of volunteer work, make her a worthy recipient of this award.
Nevertheless, despite her outstanding resume, Mitskavich was surprised to learn that she’d been selected to receive this year’s award.
“I was definitely really surprised when I found out I’d won,” Mitskavich said. “I was a little confused because my mom kept saying that someone was trying to call me and that I should look at my phone. It was surprising, but it also felt really good.”
Mitskavich’s selection should hardly have come as a surprise though as her academic record, extracurricular involvement and long list of bowling accolades is second to none.
In the classroom, Mitskavich has made First Honors Honor Roll each quarter of her high school career while taking multiple honors and AP classes. She also is a member of the National Honor Society (grades 10-12) and served on Student Council during her junior year. Mitskavich is a recent graduate of the Dale Carnegie Class which teaches leadership and public speaking skills. She will graduate from high school having earned 15 college credits.
Her extracurricular activities include time spent as a member of the Rotary Interact Club (10-12th grades), Cardinal Ambassador Program (12th grade) and varsity volleyball and softball teams (all four years). Mitskavich has donated her time and talent to organizations such as The Salvation Army, St. Mary’s Church, the Rotary Radio Auction, the Little League Regional Baseball Tournament, as a volunteer scorekeeper for middle and high school basketball games and is also a peer tutor.
Many people would be overwhelmed when trying to achieve at an elite level while balancing so many different activities. That isn’t the case for Mitskavich, however. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“My school is really what helped me get involved with most of these activities; we’re a Catholic school, so community service is really important to us,” Mitskavich said. “I’m really grateful for that because it’s given me so many opportunities to help out different people and our community as a whole.”
But while DuBois Central Catholic has provided Mitskavich with the opportunity to experience new and different activities over the last four years, one thing that has been there for her since the beginning is bowling, and, not surprisingly, her skills in that arena are exceptional as well.
On the lanes, Mitskavich earned the USBC National High Average Award - Youth Female in consecutive seasons (2021-2022 and 2022-2023 when she averaged 237 and 236 respectively). She is a five-time Pennsylvania Girls State Pepsi Champion and a two-time Allegheny Mountain Bowling Association Youth Bowler of the Year (2021-2022 and 2022-2023).
Among her other bowling accomplishments, Mitskavich was the Storm U.S. National Junior Team Challenge 18 & Under Champion (2023), a PBA Jr. National Qualifier Champion (2023) and is a two-time Storm All-American Team member. She is a three-time champion at the Storm Youth Championships, the 2017 Bowling.com Youth Open Championships U12 Girls Scratch Singles champion and has posted four Top-20 finishes at the Junior Gold Championships.
Mitskavich will be attending Jacksonville State University this fall and plans to major in Pre-Health Biology with the goal of attending Optometry School.
However, that isn’t her only goal as she hopes to help the Gamecocks remain a fixture in the national title hunt on the lanes during the next four years and then possibly try her hand at the PWBA Tour as well.
Thus far, Mitskavich has made a habit of not just reaching her goals but exceeding them by leaps and bounds. If that pattern continues, then she’s likely to be a force to be reckoned with on the lanes and out in the world for many years to come.
Mitskavich will be recognized in April during the 2024 USBC Convention at South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
This year’s award ceremony, which includes a variety of awards for youth and adult bowlers, will take place during the 2024 USBC Annual Meeting on April 24 and 25. The meeting will be broadcast live at BowlTV.com.
For a list of past Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow winners, CLICK HERE.
Learn more about awards for adult youth leaders and scholarship opportunities for youth bowlers at BOWL.com/ScholarshipAwards.
The award recognizes the star qualities of a female high school senior or college student, including accomplishments on the lanes, academic achievement and community service. Along with the prestigious honor, Mitskavich will receive a $6,000 scholarship as the 2024 recipient.
Mitskavich, 18, the daughter of three-time Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour titlist Jackie (Sellers) Mitskavich, is a senior carrying a 4.0 GPA at DuBois Central Catholic High School in DuBois, Pennsylvania, while also taking courses for college credit. Mitskavich is an accomplished bowler and that, combined with her excellence in the classroom and her outstanding record of volunteer work, make her a worthy recipient of this award.
Nevertheless, despite her outstanding resume, Mitskavich was surprised to learn that she’d been selected to receive this year’s award.
“I was definitely really surprised when I found out I’d won,” Mitskavich said. “I was a little confused because my mom kept saying that someone was trying to call me and that I should look at my phone. It was surprising, but it also felt really good.”
Mitskavich’s selection should hardly have come as a surprise though as her academic record, extracurricular involvement and long list of bowling accolades is second to none.
In the classroom, Mitskavich has made First Honors Honor Roll each quarter of her high school career while taking multiple honors and AP classes. She also is a member of the National Honor Society (grades 10-12) and served on Student Council during her junior year. Mitskavich is a recent graduate of the Dale Carnegie Class which teaches leadership and public speaking skills. She will graduate from high school having earned 15 college credits.
Her extracurricular activities include time spent as a member of the Rotary Interact Club (10-12th grades), Cardinal Ambassador Program (12th grade) and varsity volleyball and softball teams (all four years). Mitskavich has donated her time and talent to organizations such as The Salvation Army, St. Mary’s Church, the Rotary Radio Auction, the Little League Regional Baseball Tournament, as a volunteer scorekeeper for middle and high school basketball games and is also a peer tutor.
Many people would be overwhelmed when trying to achieve at an elite level while balancing so many different activities. That isn’t the case for Mitskavich, however. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“My school is really what helped me get involved with most of these activities; we’re a Catholic school, so community service is really important to us,” Mitskavich said. “I’m really grateful for that because it’s given me so many opportunities to help out different people and our community as a whole.”
But while DuBois Central Catholic has provided Mitskavich with the opportunity to experience new and different activities over the last four years, one thing that has been there for her since the beginning is bowling, and, not surprisingly, her skills in that arena are exceptional as well.
On the lanes, Mitskavich earned the USBC National High Average Award - Youth Female in consecutive seasons (2021-2022 and 2022-2023 when she averaged 237 and 236 respectively). She is a five-time Pennsylvania Girls State Pepsi Champion and a two-time Allegheny Mountain Bowling Association Youth Bowler of the Year (2021-2022 and 2022-2023).
Among her other bowling accomplishments, Mitskavich was the Storm U.S. National Junior Team Challenge 18 & Under Champion (2023), a PBA Jr. National Qualifier Champion (2023) and is a two-time Storm All-American Team member. She is a three-time champion at the Storm Youth Championships, the 2017 Bowling.com Youth Open Championships U12 Girls Scratch Singles champion and has posted four Top-20 finishes at the Junior Gold Championships.
Mitskavich will be attending Jacksonville State University this fall and plans to major in Pre-Health Biology with the goal of attending Optometry School.
However, that isn’t her only goal as she hopes to help the Gamecocks remain a fixture in the national title hunt on the lanes during the next four years and then possibly try her hand at the PWBA Tour as well.
Thus far, Mitskavich has made a habit of not just reaching her goals but exceeding them by leaps and bounds. If that pattern continues, then she’s likely to be a force to be reckoned with on the lanes and out in the world for many years to come.
Mitskavich will be recognized in April during the 2024 USBC Convention at South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
This year’s award ceremony, which includes a variety of awards for youth and adult bowlers, will take place during the 2024 USBC Annual Meeting on April 24 and 25. The meeting will be broadcast live at BowlTV.com.
For a list of past Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow winners, CLICK HERE.
Learn more about awards for adult youth leaders and scholarship opportunities for youth bowlers at BOWL.com/ScholarshipAwards.